


Glacier Frost

by MyHeartPounds



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Just Add Kittens, M/M, Masters of Spinjitzu, No Smut, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 08:24:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 19
Words: 19,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21071867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyHeartPounds/pseuds/MyHeartPounds
Summary: Sometimes we hide our true selves from the people we love. Zane is no different.





	1. Where's Zane?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My Mom](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+Mom).

> This is set in season 2 and is an AU where like everything is the same but there are some important changes to some characters and plotlines.
> 
> Also, Trigger Warning! This book has:  
Self Harm  
Suicidal Thoughts  
Self Doubt  
Hinted Nonconsensual Sex

It had been a few days since the destruction of the Megaweapon. Lloyd was struggling to train with his new body, and the others weren't having much luck either. Sensei Wu was out on the town, and everyone was doing their own thing: Kai was training with Lloyd, Jay was flirting with Nya while she ignored him and worked on the Bounty, Cole was attempting to bake a cake with little to no avail, and Zane... Where was Zane?

"Hey guys, has anyone seen Zane?" Cole asked, peeking his head out of the smoky kitchen and into the training room.

Kai stopped hitting the punching bag.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't. But he has been acting strange lately." Kai said.

"Me neither," Lloyd said.

"What're you guys talking about?" Nya asked, walking out from the bridge with Jay close behind.

"Nya, have you seen Zane at all today?" Lloyd asked her with increasingly growing concern.

"No?"

"I haven't either. You're right though about the strange part. Like, remember that one time he was just sitting on the railing of the Bounty at night and was just staring at the ground?" Jay joined in.

"You don't think..." Cole asked in concern.

Everyone went silent.

"Garmadon." Everyone said simultaneously.

"But, why would he target Zane and not try to go after the rest of us or Sensei Wu?" Jay asked.

"I don't know, but it sounds like something my dad would do," Lloyd said.

"But we don't know where they are. And might I add HE STILL HAS THE MEGAWEAPON!?!" Jay yelled.

"Jay, we destroyed it, remember?" Cole said.

"Oh yeah haha." Jay said trying to hide his embarresment.

"Actually, I think I may know where they're hiding out," Nya said, waving for the Ninja to follow her.

She led them to the bridge and pulled up a map with a glowing red spot on it.

"Zane's falcon has spotted them approaching the Birchwood Forest. If you were paying attention Jay, maybe you would have noticed that."

Jay let out a huffy sigh.

"If we set a course for them now, we should be able to reach them by sundown." She said, typing in the coordinates.

"I just hope he can last until then," Cole said with a sigh.

"He's strong. He'll be fine." Lloyd reassured him, placing a hand on the shorter man's shoulder.

*Time skip a few hours*

"We've arrived," Nya said.

Everyone looked over the edge to see the snowy forest beneath them. They pulled their hoods down and all climbed onto the ship's anchor.

Lloyd started to climb to the anchor too but Nya stopped him.

"You know what Sensei would say." She said.

"Yeah yeah yeah, the green Ninja is too important yadda yadda yadda." Lloyd let out a sigh, "When will I ever get to go."

"Well boys, if this is the last I'm going to be seeing of you, at least I know it was because we tried to save our brother," Kai said.

"Here here!" Jay said.

"Yeah..." Cole said.

"Don't worry Cole. We'll get him back." Kai said.

"Ok you guys, I'm gonna drop you in three... two... One!"

Everyone let out a screech as they plummeted toward the ground.

"So what exactly is our plan!?" Jay yelled over the wind.

"Get Zane and get the heck out!" Cole yelled back at him.

The anchor smacked into the ground as the three jumped off. They realized they had landed just below a sheer cliff and on top of that was the Serpentine army along with a chained up and blindfolded Zane.

"Let him go before I rock your world!" Cole said, pulling out his scythe.

"Haha rock! Good one Cole!" Jay said.

"Ugh! Can we focus more on the task at hand!?" Kai said angrily.

"If you dare come up here, your friend dropsss." One of the Serpentine said.

"Lord Garmadon'sss ordersss." Another said.

"Well, we can't just leave him there! NinjaaaGooo!" Kai quickly used his Spinjitzu to ascend the cliff side. 

He knocked over some Serpentine and pulled out his sword. The other two followed behind him, taking out the snake army as they went. Jay and Kai held back the Serpentine while Cole made a beeline for Zane.

"You've made a missstake young Ninja. We warned you, now you will sssuffer the conssssequencesss." The Hypnobrai holding Zane said before pushing him off the cliff.

Cole watched in horror as his fellow Ninja fell and repeatedly hit upon the sharp rocks lining the cliff face. Zane grunted in pain as he collided with the boulders. He finally slowed down as he hit a sheet of ice that was covering a lake beneath the cliff.

Cole sped down after his fallen friend. He could tell based on his friend's limp form, he must have hit his head and gotten knocked out. He was about to run over and grab him when he heard the telltale sounds of cracking ice. He watched as Zane was pulled into the icy water below.

He knew he would only have about thirty seconds before he started to go into hypothermic shock. Then what use would he be to Zane? The nindroid was heavy, and he knew it. He needed to get in and out fast. Normally Zane would be fine under icy water, but with most likely broken metal plating, his servos might shut down.

Cole took a deep breath and dived in after his friend.

He grabbed hold of Zane's arm and pulled him over his back. With all of his might, he managed to climb out of the lake with Zane. The other two raced down after them and helped them back to where Nya said she would land the Bounty. Cole looked at the broken down form of his nindroid friend one last time before he passed out from the cold.


	2. Breaking Down

Jay was nervous, so very nervous. Being the main mechanic of the group, it was his job to get Zane back online while the others treated Cole. But, he had never worked on anything as important or as complicated as a full on Nindroid. 

What if he couldn't do it? What if he screwed up? What if he just made things worse? He had to push all of his negative thoughts aside for the better future of his friend.

He gently, with some help from Kai and Nya, laid Zane on a table. Kai and Nya then left to go treat Cole for his hypothermia. He slowly and might I add awkwardly pulled off Zane's torn gi to expose his control panel door and check for injuries. He pushed passed the obvious awkwardness of the situation and checked his arms, back, chest, and legs for any easily fixable injuries like chipped paint or crooked metal. 

His chest seemed to be hit the worst. His control panel door was twisted in an unnatural way. There were multiple wire exposing gashes along his sides. He tried to do this as gently as possible. He knew despite being passed out hard, Dr. Julian had built Zane with an internal nervous system. Jay didn't want to hurt him or have him be hurting too bad later, even though he knew he would anyway.

He slowly lifted Zane's arms and gently turned them around, only to get a hard lump in his throat. On the underside of Zane's arms were rows upon rows of deep cuts. In some places only paint was scratched, and in others Zane's arms were cut through to the wiring. He shivered, and gently rolled Zane onto his stomach only to see even more of the same markings on his back. 

He hoped those were from the fall. He didn't want to believe they came from somewhere else. He COULDN'T believe they came from somewhere else. They were too meticulously placed. Too similar in size and length. He knew that they weren't from the Serpentine or Garmadon either. They wouldn't care to place them so perfectly. 

He knew those marks well. He bore them too. His weren't new. They were pretty old. He couldn't tell with Zane's though. It was metal after all. He hoped they weren't. He didn't want to believe it. He COULDN'T believe it. He never knew his friend was so hurt. He didn't know he had been suffering all of this time. He wondered... If Cole hadn't unknowingly caught Zane that one night as he looked over Ninjago City from the railing... He didn't want to know what may have happened.

He felt like crying. His friend could have died. His friend was trying to kill himself. The kind, selfless, Nindroid who cared so deeply of his friends thought nothing of himself. He somehow couldn't think of how that would effect the world, his friendships, and Cole. 

Jay had known for a while that Zane was hopelessly in love with Cole. Jay knew Cole was in love with Nya. Nya was his, and he hated when Cole secretly flirted with her when he didn't think Jay could hear him. Jay had been trying to show Cole how much Zane loved him, but he knew that Cole was way to stupid to get it. 

Even then, he didn't even know if Cole was bi or something else. Knowing the Master of Earth, he was probably straight. Jay didn't want to crush Zane's heart, so he kept quiet.

He made a mental note to discuss it with the others later and with Zane himself. 

He flipped Zane onto his back again and opened his control panel. After a quick check, he noticed there were only a few unhooked wires and his chest was a little water logged. He dried the inside of his chest, and clipped the wires back into place. After checking his power source, he concluded it would only take a few days or so for him to wake up again. 

Jay then got started on his other task of adding some new plating over large rips from the rocks and mixed up some matching skin colored paint to cover the exposed metal. He didn't repair the marks on his arms. He would do that at a different time. He didn't want Zane to know he'd seen them when he woke up. After he was finished, he dressed Zane in a clean gi and called for Jay and Nya.

"Did everything go well?" Nya asked, putting a hand on Jay's shoulder.

He tensed up by the sudden contact.

"Y-YEAH! Everything was perfect Haha! Not like there's anything totally serious I learned on accident!" Jay said, very unconvincingly.

Nya and Kai just shrugged it off as Jay being Jay and helped him move Zane into his bed. Jay went back into his room and slept the most anxiously he ever had.


	3. Will he make it?

Cole woke up with a raging headache, and a shaking body. Everything felt so cold to him. Even the least warm thing burnt against his skin. He groaned as he got up from his bed, wrapping himself in a thick blanket. He walked upstairs to the kitchen to get himself a warm cup of tea from Sensei Wu. 

He made it into the kitchen and sat at the table. Then, Lloyd walked into the kitchen.

"Wha- Cole? You're up? You should still be asleep! You aren't supposed to be walking around!"

"Hey kid," Cole said before letting out a deep cough, covering his mouth with his fist.

"C'mon. Let's get you back to bed."

Lloyd helped the Earth Ninja to his feet and wrapped his arm around around his shoulder. He walked Cole back to his room and laid him in his bed. 

"If you need anything, you should ask me now because you are not getting up until Sensei says you can." Lloyd said.

"Maybe some tea sounds nice." Cole said still coughing.

"Alright. We have cinnamon ginger, honey lemon, jasmine oolong, or earl grey. Based on what you normally get, I bet you'll say earl grey tea." Lloyd said jokingly.

"Actually, jasmine sounds kinda nice." 

"Really? Wait isn't that Zane's? He probably won't like it if you just take it." Lloyd pointed out.

"Oh yeah, just ask him." Cole said, not thinking.

Lloyd stopped awkwardly in the doorway. 

"Umm... How am I supposed to do that?" Lloyd quietly asked.

Suddenly it clicked in Cole's head. He forcefully flung himself out of bed, almost falling over in the process. Lloyd managed to catch him before he did fall though.

"Easy tiger! What did I tell you about getting up?" Lloyd said, forcing him back down.

"Zane! Where is he?! Is he okay?! Is he..."

"Don't worry Cole. He's fine. Jay just fixed him up. He said it was nothing too bad."

Cole calmed down, resting his hand on his forehead. He sighed, and breathed in a deep breath.

"Thank God. If something happened to him... I... I don't know what I would do." He covered his face with his hands, "He's my best friend. He's our teammate. Without him... I'd... We'd..."

"I get it." Lloyd said, trying to comfort the distraught Ninja, "He's special to all of us. He is a key member to our group as a fighter and as a friend. We could never lose him."

"He's just... Something else to me. He makes me feel different. Whenever I'm near him, my heart starts to beat really fast, and I feel warm and tingly. I don't know what to do with myself. It's weird, I know."

"Cole... Do you have a crush on Zane?"

Cole started coughing so hard it sounded like he was hacking up a lung. Lloyd smacked him on the back a few times, until he finally stopped coughing.

"Woah are you alright?" Lloyd asked, concerned.

"Yeah." He took a deep breath, "I'm fine."

"So... Do you like him?"

"What?! No way!" Cole said almost offended. He lowered his voice before saying, "Maybe... Is that gross?"

"No! It's not gross. Don't worry, none of us think so. And I'm sure Zane doesn't either. Hey, why don't I go get you some tea before we continue this conversation?" 

"Sure thing kid." Cole said, letting out another small cough, "Could you grab another blanket too? I'm still cold."

"Well you did get light hypothermia. And sure thing. I'll be right back." 

Lloyd left the room, closing the door behind him. He went to the kitchen and boiled water in a teapot and added the jasmine oolong tea to the water. He grabbed an extra blanket from a closet and headed back to Cole's room. He slowly opened the door only to see Cole curled up, fast asleep. 

Lloyd smiled, and placed the teapot and cup on Cole's nightstand, and laid the blanket by his bed. He left Cole to sleep, and let out a sigh. When Zane woke up, it was gonna be one heck of a ride.


	4. The Boy in a Bubble

Zane woke up in a cold, dark room. He tried to stand, only to feel a throbbing, aching pain in his chest and wrists. He could feel that he was chained in a position where he was forced to his knees and his arms were strapped above him. He tried calling for someone, but the pain in his chest didn't allow him to. 

He had no elemental powers, no strength left to fight, and no one could hear him. He had no idea where he was but based on his situation he assumed he must have been captured by Garmadon or the Serpentine. He couldn't see a thing, so he guessed he was blindfolded. He knew his friends probably didn't even notice he was gone.

The group would probably be better off without him. They should just find a new Master of Ice and leave him behind. Ever since he learned of his father's death and of his robotic reality, he hadn't been able to feel strong. Even though he knew his past, he felt weaker for knowing. 

He knew they wouldn't get why he was suffering. They wouldn't approve of why he was suffering. He was in love with Cole. Another man. Well, technically not as Zane was a Nindroid but that just made it wrong on two different levels. In the small world of Ninjago, those sort of feelings were seen as wrong and unnatural. He didn't want to know what would happen if the public learned one of the Ninja felt that way. He'd most likely be exiled.

He snapped out of his thoughts and tried calling for help again. But no one came. He tried again and again. Finally, he heard something. Footsteps. Someone was in the room with him.

"What should we do with him, Massster Garmadon?" 

A Serpentine and guessing from the name he said, Lord Garmadon.

"Nothing. We are just using him to lure his friends here. Once we have them and my brother, there will be no one to train Lloyd. And when Lloyd never unlocks his true potential, I will never have to fight him."

"But sssire, this will be the perfect revenge againssst the Ninja. They care a lot for each other, ssso if we were to kill one of them-"

"I SAID NOTHING! WE JUST WANT TO CAPTURE THE NINJA, NOT KILL THEM!"

"Of courssse... but um... What if we just hurt him instead? It would make the Ninja feel more guilty, and more likely to sssurrender." 

"Oh alright. But don't mess him up too bad. We still need him conscious for questioning."

"T-thank you Lord Garmadon!" Zane heard a chorus of voices say.

Zane heard footsteps leaving the room. He then felt a swift kick straight to his chest. He let out a grunt and heard a room full of laughs.

"What'sss wrong Ninja? Can't handle sssomething ssso sssmall?"

"Don't worry, you're friends won't mind if you ssscream. They can't hear you." 

'They wouldn't care, would they?' Zane thought. 

"Why don't you ssscream a little more for usss?" A different Serpentine said before practically ripping off Zane's gi. 

"This one'sss a robot?" Another questioned.

"Ssstrange..." 

He felt a pair of scaly hands open his control panel. He shifted around to try and get hands off of him, but to no avail. He got really scared when he felt them open his panel. 

"Ooh, the ssswitchesss are labeled!"

"Sssensssitivity? Let'sss sssee what happensss when we put it at maximum."

Zane shuddered at the feeling. He felt as a foreign hand pulled on his internal wires. He half moaned and cried out at the sensation. He felt a different hand force itself over his mouth. He felt tears roll down his cheeks. They kept tugging and unhooking different mechanisms. It felt so wrong. He tried to scream, but his voice was muffled. 

He felt a hand grab at the bottom part of his gi. It was an uncomfortable feeling, to say the least. Someone else touched some part of his body he was unfamiliar with. It felt weird. He didn't understand what they were doing, but he knew it was wrong. Suddenly, they pulled a wire and he blacked out. Eventually, the snakes got bored and left him.

In his head, he was alone with his thoughts.

He could hear a choir of all too familiar voices, all screaming at him, mocking him.

"WE'D NEVER COME BACK FOR YOU!" A voice so filled with hatred yelled.

"YOU'RE A USELESS CHUNK OF METAL!" Said a voice that made him feel like he was struck with lightning.

"JUST DIE ALREADY!" Said a voice with a fiery passion.

"KILL YOURSELF!" Yelled a voice that drowned his thoughts.

He had a quick moment of silence before he heard one final voice that hit him worse than the others. He felt like he was crushed by a boulder.

"I hate you."

Then he woke up.


	5. Healing

Zane jolted up in his bed, instantly regretting his decision. His whole body ached and was sore. He let out a quiet groan of pain. His sudden movements and sound woke the person in the room next to his. He was startled to see a very tired, disoriented Jay burst into his room at top speeds.

"Zane! Oh my gosh, you're up! We all missed you so much!" Jay said, practically tackling the Nindroid into a hug.

"J-Jay... It is very good to see you as well. Now, would you mind getting off of me? I am still very sore." A winded Zane said.

"Oh yeah sorry!" Jay said, jumping back, "I knew you were gonna be sore, but I guess I just forgot about it."

"I'm... Not sure what happened. How did I get back here? How long have I been out?" Zane said, still confused.

"You've been out for five days. We noticed you were missing, and your falcon spotted the Serpentine approaching the Birchwood Forest. Kai, Cole, and I went to save you, but if it wasn't for Cole I'm not sure if you would have made it." Jay said, going quiet.

"What do you mean?" Zane asked.

"You fell. Some Serpentine pushed you over the edge of a cliff and you fell into a frozen lake. Cole ran down and dived in after you. Kai and I tried to hold the army back, but they almost got you guys. Nya swooped in last minute and pulled you two into the Bounty."

"Cole... Saved me?" Zane said, his face turning a light shade of blue, "Is he alright? Diving into frozen over water has a high chance of giving one hypothermia."

"I know. That's why you can't see him yet. He's sick. Hypothermia."

Zane suddenly felt a wave of anger rushing over him. It was his fault Cole was sick. Cole risked his life to save him. All of his friends might have been captured because of his own stupidity. If he hadn't been outside that one night, none of this would have happened.

"Soo... What happened? The Serpentine... They hurt you, didn't they?"

Jay expected some sort of reaction, but he didn't expect Zane to start crying. He tried not to freak out and to comfort his friend.

"I-i'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring up anything! Uh... Um... Should I hug you? Or do you want space? I uh- don't know- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Jay shut his mouth and hugged his friend.

Zane's eye's widened at the sudden contact. His tears flowed as he hugged his friend back.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay." Jay said, "I didn't mean to say something that rude."

"It's okay..." Zane said quietly, "I was chained up in a dark room. I was blindfolded and overheard conversations between a Serpentine and Garmadon. They were debating whether to kill me or not. Garmadon said the could treat me however they wished as long as I was still conscious. I was beaten by what sounded to be at least twelve of their recruits. Then I blacked out." Zane finished going quiet.

"Hey, it's okay." Jay reassured him, pulling out of the hug, "You're okay now. They can't hurt you anymore."

"There was something else too. But, I didn't un-understand it." Zane said quietly.

"What happened?" Jay questioned, concerned.

"I-I don't think I should tell you. I think it was ba-bad." Zane said, getting more and more nervous.

"Zane. I know it's hard, but I can't help you unless you tell me." Jay urged him.

"Th-ey touched me... U-u-under the lower part of my g-gi. I-it felt w-weird... Like it was wr-wrong... I-I blac-ked out after that... I-I don't kn-know what else happened."

Jay tried to hide the terror in his eyes. This was much worse than he thought. His friend was molested, maybe raped, and he did nothing to help. Zane was terrified and had no idea what happened to him. He started crying again, and all Jay could do was hug him close and whisper to him softly.

"Hey... It's okay... You can cry... Just let it out... You're okay... They can't hurt you anymore... You're okay..." 

Zane eventually calmed down enough to talk.

"Jay?" Zane said wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"How did you know I was hurt in the first place?"

"I was the one that repaired you."

"You... You repaired me."

"Yeah and?"

"So you saw them... Didn't you?" Zane said, grabbing hold of his other arm, "You must think I'm a freak." He laughed awkwardly.

Jay silently pulled up his sleeve. Zane let out a soft gasp and bit his lower lip. He was seeing someone like him. Someone that came out of a bad situation, but not without scars to tell the tale. 

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Zane whispered.

"I thought no one else would understand. Not even my parents know." 

"I understand Jay. But why? Why would you do this?"

"My parents always loved me and cared for me so much, that I never had any doubt that I was loved. That was until I started school. I was bullied throughout my entire school life because I did theatre and was in the robotics club. I was pretty much the perfect target for bullies. There wasn't a day I wouldn't come home with a new broken bone or nose bleed. My mom started to catch on and asked me about school and what was going on. I would say nothing, and she wouldn't press. She probably should have pushed a little harder."

"I'm so sorry Jay. I never knew."

"Haha yeah. That was kinda the point." Jay said, letting out a nervous laugh and scratching the back of his head.

"Now." Jay said, "Tell me what is going on with you. I'm going to assume those aren't old."

Zane sighed and shook his head. 

"They are not old. It started after I learned about my past. I felt empty. Like I would never be the same again. And that emptiness and loneliness just increased when I-" Zane let out a cough, "May have found a function of my system I did not know I could do. I did not know I had the capability to feel love until..."

"It's Cole isn't it?" Jay said.

"H-how did you know?!" Zane said, his face turning a pale robin's egg blue.

"You make it really obvious. I mean, almost every time you have a conversation with him, I have to fix you because you had a short circuit. All you ever seem to do is talk about him, and you always blush when someone else talks about him. You-" Jay said, poking Zane in the chest, "Have one of the biggest crushes I have ever seen."

"But, what should I do? I could never tell him. Wouldn't he hate me?" Zane said, playing with his hair.

"No way! He's your best friend! He wouldn't hate you. But just a warning..." Jay said, standing up, "Love is a crazy path, and please... Don't beat yourself up over it."

Jay left, and Zane let out a deep sigh.


	6. Cooking Together

Five days passed after Cole had first woken up. He was so bored. Everyone had refused to let him get out of bed. He was so tired of looking at the same room for five days straight. He was feeling fine, and didn't care what everyone else said. He was going to get up and do something.

He got out of bed, and stretched his legs. He hadn't felt that good of a stretch in a long time. He walked around for a little bit, and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess, and he'd been wearing the same clothes for five days. He took a long, hot shower and changed into some clean clothes. He felt refreshed and renewed.

He walked out of his room, and started to head down the hallway. Then, he saw Jay leaving Zane's room. Zane's room? Why would he go in there in the first place? Unless...

Cole waited a few minutes to be sure that no one else would see him up. Then, he slowly cracked open the door of Zane's room and peered inside. What he saw was Zane, starting to take off his shirt. He quickly looked away, not wanting to infringe on the other's privacy. His face turned a little red at the thought. He waited a few more minutes, and peeked in again. Zane was sitting on the floor in different clothes, meditating.

Cole opened the door a little more, and walked into the room. He sat next to Zane and copied his actions. Zane could hear him entering the room, and opened his eyes to see his crush sitting next to him attempting to meditate. He smiled and giggled at Cole's furiously scrunched face. Cole looked up at Zane and turned red.

"Zane?! What are you laughing at?" Cole said acting offended.

"Your face when meditating is most comical if I do say so myself." Zane replied snarkily.

Cole smiled at the person next to him.

"Come here you tin can!" Cole said, pulling Zane into a hug.

Zane's face turned blue, and he froze up as Cole's hands met his back. He tried not to act uncomfortable, but Cole got that he was and pulled back.

"Sorry! I forgot that you were probably sore!" Cole said, embarrassed.

"It's fine." Zane said, trying to reassure him.

"So, how are you doing? You've been out for five days." Cole asked concerned.

"I'm doing fine, just sore. I was out for so long so my system could fully reboot."

"Okay." Cole said.

There was an awkward silence between the two, with neither of them saying anything for a few moments. They both didn't look at each other, their faces covered in blush. Finally, Zane spoke up. 

"So, I was thinking of making dinner tonight. Would you like to help? I could use some in my condition."

"Sure thing. But, are you sure you want MY help? Everyone knows I'm not exactly a five star chef."

Zane tried not to blow his cover for wanting Cole's help.

"Well, maybe you would like to learn how to cook? Unless of course you do not want to... I hope I am not forcing this on you." Zane said, twiddling his thumbs and turning blue.

"No you're not forcing me! I'd love for you to teach me how to cook!" Cole said, reassuring him, "So, what are we gonna make?"

"I was thinking maybe a beef stew? It is hearty and simple."

"Sounds good."

The two of them got up, Zane a little slower, and headed to the kitchen. Lloyd walked in looking for some cookies or something to snack on. Upon seeing the two of them working to get out pots and a cutting board he was going to say something. Cole saw him and glared. Lloyd got the signal, winked at him, gave him a thumbs up, and left.

Cole got out ingredients as instructed by Zane, who couldn't really bend over, and set them by the cutting board. He tried to peel a potato toward his hands, but Zane caught him quickly.

"Never cut towards yourself. You could hurt yourself if you slip. Always cut away from yourself and make sure to cut slowly to be safe."

"Alright mom." Cole said jokingly, pointing at Zane's pink apron.

"I like to be clean while I cook." Zane said, rolling his eyes.

They continued cooking together, with Zane occasionally stopping Cole from cutting his fingers off or setting the Bounty on fire. Eventually, they finished cooking with no accidents somehow. No one else walked in on them, so Cole assumed Lloyd kept the others away to give them alone time. He assumed Jay hadn't told anyone else that Zane was up yet, so they were making the best surprise dinner ever.

Zane started setting the table, when Cole walked over to him with a spoon. Cole pushed it close to Zane's face, and Zane gave him a weird look.

"It's your stew, you should try it first."  
Cole said.

"Yes but, I can feed myself." Zane retaliated.

"Whatever." Cole said shrugging it off, "Just open your mouth."

Zane awkwardly opened his mouth, and Cole stuck the spoon in his mouth. Zane's eye's widened. He pulled the spoon out, and he smiled so wide. Cole could feel his heart rupturing at Zane's adorable reaction and tried to keep his composure.

"That is so good! Well done Cole!" Zane said, congratulating him.

"Why are you thanking me? It was your idea and you did most of the work." Cole said turning red.

"Well..." Zane was interrupted by the door opening. 

In walked Jay, Nya, Kai, Lloyd, and Sensei Wu all staring at the two of them. It must have looked pretty weird to see Zane pushed up against the table with Cole standing over him, both colored in the face. Cole stepped away and coughed awkwardly.

"So... Who wants to eat?" Zane said.

"Zane! You're awake!" Nya said, hugging him.

Everyone else joined in the group hug around him except for Jay. 

Jay gave him a knowing look and said, "Well, I sure am hungry! What's for dinner?"

Zane stepped out of the hug and smiled.

"Beef stew. Cole helped me make it. Don't worry, it is entirely edible." Zane said jokingly.

Everyone laughed, excited to see that everyone was back to normal.


	7. Secrets Revealed

It was the morning after everyone was reunited. It felt like life was back to normal. Jay was following Nya around as she tried to clean, Kai and Lloyd were playing video games very competitively, Cole was just sitting at the table, Sensei Wu was ignoring the chaos, and Zane was washing the dishes. As much as Cole made fun of him for it, he really thought Zane looked adorable when he wore that stupid pink apron. He just didn't care what everyone else thought, and Cole admired him for it. 

Cole smiled as he watched Zane busily going about his work. He normally wouldn't pay so much attention to it, but Zane's eyes would light up whenever he was excited or pleased. And that's not figurative, as in the would literally light up. His smile was subtle but perfect and real. The way his face would turn a light blue whenever he was embarrassed or nervous would make Cole's soul feel like it was being crushed by cuteness. 

It was like there was nothing someone could say about Zane that would make him not love the Ice Ninja.

All too soon, Zane had to leave. He finished up his work and hung up his apron.

He announced, "I am going out to buy some more groceries. I have made a list of basic things, but is there any special requests I should add?"

"I want more candy!" He heard Lloyd yell from the other room.

"I second that!" Kai yelled.

"Okay. Not that." Zane said, knowing full well that Lloyd would just end up sick again if he added to his candy stash.

"We need more shampoo and conditioner!" Nya yelled from the bathroom she was cleaning aka making Jay clean.

"Alright." He said, writing that on his list.

"I need more wire!" Jay yelled, poking his head out of the bathroom. 

"Twenty gauges and copper correct?" Zane asked.

"Yeah!" Jay yelled.

"Cole you haven't requested anything. Do you need anything?" Zane asked.

Cole sat up out of his daydream.

"Naw I'm good." He said.

"Alright," Zane said unsurely.

He then headed out, leaving the others alone.

Jay had been waiting for this. It was time he told the others the truth about what he saw when he was fixing Zane. He didn't want to talk about it behind Zane's back, but the others needed to know. He summoned up his courage and placed his supplies down. He then spoke up.

"You guys," He yelled into all of the rooms, "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Right now?" Kai said, angrily pausing his game.

"Yes, right now right now!" Jay said, "Let's go somewhere else though, where we can all be in private."

Everyone grumpily left their tasks and met up in the bridge. Except Cole wasn't grumpy, he wasn't doing much, to begin with. They all sat down in a circle, not that excited to hear whatever crazy proclamation Jay had decided was important. Sensei Wu was tired and wanted to go back to sleep. He had woken up for this so it had better be good.

"So what do you need to tell us so important?" Nya said, bored.

"It's about Zane," Jay said.

Everyone immediately sat upright in their chairs. If it was about Zane then it was probably actually important and not Jay talking about how the sky is falling. 

"Tell us," Cole said, getting serious.

"Okay, but please everyone keep calm. This may be a hard conversation for some of us. It personally hits really close to home for me. I just want us all to not freak out and flip a table or something." Jay said, looking specifically at Kai and Cole.

"Okay. But I'm not making any promises." Kai said raising his hands.

"Just tell us what you need to tell us, Jay." Sensei Wu encouraged him.

Jay took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"It's Zane. He-he's..." Jay went quiet before mumbling, "Been cutting himself."

"Say that again Jay? I couldn't hear you." Cole asked.

"He'sbeencuttinghimself," Jay said quickly.

"Huh?" Basically, everyone said.

Jay clenched his fists and closed his eyes. 

"ZANE'S BEEN CUTTING HIMSELF!" He yelled in a voice full of anguish.

Everyone let out a gasp. It was like you could feel the room immediately drop in moral. 

"How long have you known?" Lloyd solemnly asked.

"Since I repaired him a few days ago. I asked him about it yesterday and he confirmed it."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Kai said, clearly very upset.

"I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I know how I would feel if you found out I was cutting myself." Jay slapped his hand over his mouth.

Everyone stared at him. 

"Jay, why didn't you tell me?" Nya said, her eyes watering.

"I didn't want you to worry..." Jay quietly said, "And mine are pretty old. I've been clean for over a year now. It's Zane you should be worried about. His are new. Very new. And they aren't small either."

"Well, what should we do? Should we try to talk to him about it?" Kai asked.

"I'm not sure, but... There's something else. Something a lot worse." Jay said.

"What is it, Jay? We all must know." Sensei Wu said.

"Okay, but it's really bad, so if you don't want to hear it you should probably leave," Jay warned.

"We'll be fine." Nya said, "But you need to tell us so we can make sure he's fine."

"When he was captured I think they did something really bad, and he doesn't understand what happened. He's really scared because he doesn't know what really happened to him. I tried to piece together what he said he could remember before he was knocked out and it's a lot worse than I thought."

"Ahh just tell us, Jay!" Kai said, starting to get annoyed at Jay's resilience to tell them what was going on.

"He pretty much said that, " Jay took a deep breath, "They touched him in ba-bad places ba-basically." 

Everybody froze up and their jaws dropped. They all didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. Except...

"Why?" Cole said quietly.

"Why?" Jay asked.

"WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!?" Cole yelled, thrusting himself to his feet and easily punching the table in the middle of the room in half. 

"Cole! Calm down!" Kai said, also jumping to his feet to try and stop the Earth Master from doing something stupid.

"WHY WOULD HE HURT HIMSELF!? WHY WOULD HE DO SOMETHING SO STUPID?! WHY WOULD THEY HURT HIM LIKE THAT!? WHY DO THEY GET AWAY WITH IT!?" Cole yelled, his eyes filling with tears and his mouth with unbridled rage, "WHY!? Why! Why..."

He then broke down into tears. Jay hugged him, and everyone else joined in. 

"Cole..." Jay placed a hand on his shoulder.

Suddenly, everyone heard a door open. 

"Everyone, I'm back!"


	8. I Love You Pt. 1

Everyone tried going back to normal when they heard Zane come in, but it was hard after what they had just heard from Jay. Everyone was treating him as if he was a precious snowflake. Zane noticed everyone was acting strange around him but pretended like he didn't notice. He was feeling worse every day but hid behind his smile. He tried acting like everything was fine, but he knew that it wasn't.

He was drowned in emotions he didn't understand, and Jay refused to explain the meaning of what had actually happened to him. He ended up looking it up himself and learned that it was called molestation. He read that it was very serious, and he should call an authority figure or talk to a counselor but he didn't care. It's not like it mattered anyway. His friends pitied him and no one else knew what he was really feeling inside. Even Jay didn't understand it. Their problems were similar, but nowhere near the same. 

He felt like a useless hunk of metal. He never asked to be made. He never asked to be able to feel real emotion. There was no one in the world like him, and no one he could relate to. It made him different, but not special. He always took the blame no matter who had caused something. He always knew he had to be the responsible one, but he didn't want to be. He wanted to just be normal, not be seen as the quiet one or the weird one. 

He had only tried to kill himself once before, but he was caught. It was the night after he learned who his father was and what he was. If only Cole hadn't seen him. If it wasn't for Cole, he wouldn't have to deal with these emotions anymore. It was all Cole. He was the one that made Zane feel these emotions that he knew were wrong. He was the one that made Zane's face brighten whenever someone mentioned his name. He was the one who made Zane's heart pound whenever he drew near. He was the one who's smile could make Zane forget everything that was wrong in his life. And yet, it was never enough. It could never be enough.

After a week of agonizingly long pain for him, Zane decided that once and for all, he would give it all up. They would find someone new for their team. Someone better. Someone who was normal. 

Zane woke at three a.m. and carefully snuck out of his room as to not wake anyone. It was very cold that night as he stepped outside. He ignored it. It wasn't like he could feel it anyway. He was metal after all. He walked up to the railing of the Bounty, still in his pajamas. The moon was shining through the misty sky onto the ocean beneath them. They were anchored high above the ocean, and the view was beautiful, to say the least. He carefully stepped onto the railing, making sure not to slip. He didn't want to fall. Yet.

He carefully tied a note with a ribbon onto the rail beneath his feet. On it he wrote:

'Dear My Friends, 

Here's for an uncaring and unforgiving world, a list of things for you to be happy about:

Jay, you'll never have to deal with that friend who cried in front of you and made you feel bad. You'll never have to see me falling in love with somebody again and getting my heart broken. You'll never have to care about someone who was too emotionally invested in someone else to care about themselves. Someone who abandoned reason and made you hate them.

Nya, it is sad to know I will never get to know you better. You are a strong young woman and have so much ahead of you. Keep following your dreams and I know you can be anything you want.

Kai, you never failed to make me smile. You never act like it, but you are a very kind person to both your friends and your enemies. Make sure to keep Lloyd safe. After all, it is what you were destined to do.

Lloyd, you are a kind and caring young man. You will do great things. I know how hard it must be to know you must defeat your father, but I know that you can do it. You are far more powerful than you think. Please keep everyone together. I believe in you. 

Cole, I never got to tell you but I love you. You make me smile and stutter over my words. You make my servos lock and spark. Yet I knew you would never love me back.

You were all my lights in the dark and you gave me great reasons to stay here. 

At the funeral, don't sing a requiem for me. Don't have a heavy heart. Don't go and break in pieces. Don't go and fall apart for me.

You are all beautiful.

When you've fallen in the forest and you think there's nobody around, you really do crash and always make a sound.

Sincerely, for the last time,   
Me.'

Zane felt a tear roll down his cheek.

He quietly whispered to himself as he spread his arms.

"Goodbye Cole. I love you."


	9. I Love You Pt. 2

"Zane you can't do this! We need you! You're so special and important to this team!"

"Goodbye Cole. I love you." Zane stepped one foot off the Bounty.

"ZANE WAIT DON'T JUMP I-"

Cole jolted awake from his dream. Well, it was more of a nightmare. He shuddered at what he had just dreamt about. If Zane died, he... He had no idea what he would do. Zane was his life. He was his heart and soul. He loved the Nindroid with all that he could give. The way his hair would blow in a slight breeze. The subtle, yet real smile he would give occasionally. His laugh he had only heard a few times. How he would sing in his beautiful voice whenever he thought no one was around. Zane was just perfect. 

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard the quiet pitter-patter of footsteps making their way past his door. He checked his alarm clock. It said it was three A.M. but, no one was ever up that early. He assumed it was probably Jay sleepwalking again until he heard the door creak open. Jay never opened the door when he sleepwalks. He always either went to the kitchen or smacked into the door and subsequently woke up. He decided to check what was up and quietly opened his door as to not get caught. 

He snuck out of his room and looked both ways out of his door before heading out. He peeked out of the slightly ajar door that led to the deck. He was surprised to see someone outside, slowly strolling toward the front of the flying ship. Despite the darkness, he could make out a few features of the person. He watched entranced as the person, whose identity he still wasn't sure about, slowly stepped onto the railing in front of them and strung up a note beside them. 

He realized who he was looking at as the moonlight shone down on the Ninja of Ice. His pale skin and light hair glowed in the light. He almost looked like an angel, coming down from heaven to take Cole back with him. However, he was snapped out of his trance as he saw Zane take a deep breath and spread his arms. Cole remembered his nightmare from earlier and pushed the door open with full force. He practically dove at Zane, wrapping his arms around the Nindroid's waist. He pulled him off of the railing and into his lap. 

Zane froze at the sudden contact and almost screamed for help until he realized who was holding him.

"Cole? What are you doing awake this late at night?"

"Oh, I don't know... Why don't you first explain to me WHY YOU'RE OUT HERE TRYING TO KILL YOURSELF!?" Cole raised his voice, but not loud enough as to awake the entire ship. 

"That is not your business," Zane said quietly, "Now would you mind letting me go?" 

Zane tried to wiggle free of Cole's tight embrace but had no chance against the Master of Earth. 

"Oh no, I'm not letting you go until you tell me what's going on," Cole said, pulling him closer and putting his head on Zane's shoulder.

"I do not wish to discuss this," Zane said, starting to get irritated at Cole's resilience.

"Zane, I already told you. There is no way I'm letting either of us leave this spot until you tell me why you tried to kill yourself. I know you'll just try again later." Cole retaliated.

"You are correct. I shall tell you what is going on." Zane said quietly.

Cole loosened his grip a little. Zane saw his chance, broke free and ran for the edge again. Cole grabbed him again and held him even closer than before. 

"Zane Julian! Please, just tell me why you are acting like this! I want to help you!" Cole said, starting to cry a little. Luckily his face was hidden on Zane's shoulder. 

"You can't know!" Zane started to yell back at him, also hiding his tears from the other.

"Don't talk to me like that! Of course, I need to know! You mean a lot to me, Zane! I want to help you! I want you to feel confident! I want you to love yourself! I want you to smile more! Laugh more! The only time I ever see you happy anymore is when you cook, and I haven't seen you do that in a month until a few days ago! Now, please! Tell me what you need to say..." Cole said, actually starting to cry. 

"You'll hate me..." Zane said, suddenly going quiet. 

"Zane, I could never hate you. It doesn't matter what you tell me. I promise that I will never, ever hate you."

"Cole..." Zane took a deep breath.

"You can do it. I'll understand anything you tell me."

"I love you," Zane mumbled.

Cole smiled the biggest smile he ever had. He pulled Zane tighter into the hug, making Zane blush.

"Zane, I love you too."


	10. Going on a Date

The two of them stayed in their tight embrace, not letting go of each other. They stood there as Zane cried all of his emotions away. The cold air outside was kept away by their body's proximity. They stayed like that for about ten minutes until Zane had stopped sobbing. Cole kissed Zane on his forehead and looked him in the eyes.

"Are you feeling better now?" Cole asked gently. 

Zane nodded his head and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. 

"Do you wanna go back inside? It's pretty cold and I'm not in the mood to get sick again. Also, just saying you are sleeping in my room tonight."

"Yes, but-"

"No buts. We're also hanging out together for the rest of the week. I'm not leaving your side, okay?"

Zane nodded his head and smiled. He and Cole walked hand in hand back into Cole's room and fell asleep side by side. After only a few minutes, Zane shook Cole awake. Cole begrudgingly opened his eyes and yawned.

"What do you need?" He asked sleepily.

"I would like to know if the liking of each other means that we are dating as some call it. In addition, I would like to know if I can 'cuddle' with you." Zane asked nervously.

"If you want it too," Cole said, smiling, "And of course I'll cuddle with you."

Cole wrapped his arms around Zane's waist and placed his head in the crook of his neck. Zane's skin was kinda cold being metal and all, but he ignored it.

"Cole?"

"Yes?"

"What if the others do not except us?"

"Of course they will! They are our friends and will love us no matter what."

"It is not them I meant. I meant the rest of Ninjago. What if we are hurt for this? You know that this love is forbidden here."

"I don't care what everyone says. I love you, and nothing will change that."

Zane went quiet before he said, "I love you."

"I love you too." 

The two of them then fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

The next morning, they woke up at around seven thirty. They crawled out of bed, only to find no one else there. They had left a note on the fridge saying that they would be back by five and that they had gone on a shopping trip to look for some new furniture. In reality, it was because they wanted to leave the two love birds for some alone time. With nothing to do, the two of them just sort of sat at the table, tossing back and forth ideas.

"Hey Zane, have you ever had coffee?" Cole asked randomly.

"No, why do you ask?" Zane asked curiously.

"Well, there's this coffee shop in the Ninjago City Mall I know, and it's really good. It's pretty quiet too, not too popular. I was wondering if maybe you... wanted to go get a coffee with me?" Cole asked, awkwardly dragging out his last sentence.

"Cole, are you asking me on a date?" Zane asked, his face glowing blue.

"Maybeeee?" Cole said, shrinking down into his chair.

"I would love to." Zane said, "Let me get ready first." 

Zane got up and walked to his bedroom. Cole decided to get ready too and walked into his room. He chose a nice orange hoodie with a black tee-shirt, black ripped jeans, and black tennis shoes. He then took a shower and blow-dried his hair. He put in his favorite pair of black studs and gelled his hair into its usual style. He stepped out of his room at the same time as Zane did. Zane was wearing a white tee-shirt with a blue and purple flannel, sky blue jeans and converse, and had his hair spiked up as usual. They both sort of stopped and stared at each other for a few seconds.

Cole coughed and said, "So, are you ready to go? We can take the Ultra Sonic Raider."

"Yes, I am ready," Zane said.

They hopped in and headed to the city. They parked in the parking lot and walked into the mall. It was huge. There were hundreds of stores, and it was very loud in there. There were teens walking hand in hand, women rushing from store to store, men looking confused at the maps, and kids running around like they were jacked up on pixie sticks. There were crazy smells coming from the food court and the constant hustle and bustle could make anybody crazy.

Cole noticed that Zane was feeling uncomfortable, so he grabbed his hand and guided him through the crowds until they finally reached the coffee shop. They entered a small, homey looking shop with a kind looking woman with short red hair standing at the front. Cole asked for a table for two, she smiled at them when she saw they were holding hands and led them to a table.

Cole spoke up as they sat down: "I've been going to this place since the mall first opened. It's where I would go to hide from my dad. The people here practically became my family. The woman who just sat us is Alison. She and her son in law Mori work here as waiters and her son Butterscotch makes the coffee. Her brother in law Nate runs the business side. They're the first people that were supportive of my sexuality. And no, his name isn't really Butterscotch. We just all call him that."

"Wow," Zane said.

The woman named Alison walked up to their table and said, "Hey Cole! I haven't seen you in a while! I see you brought a certain special ice ninja with you huh?" She wiggled her eyebrows at them.

"Oh c'mon Alison you're embarrassing him." Cole rolled his eyes jokingly as Zane's face brightened. 

She laughed and asked, "What can I get you guys?"

"I'll have a black coffee with milk," Cole said.

"I'll have the um, m-mocha please," Zane said politely.

"Sure thing guys, coming right up." Alison said before leaning over to Cole and whispering in his ear, "He's a keeper."

Soon enough, they both their coffees. Zane nervously took a sip, and his face and eyes lit up. Cole looked up at the bright light to see his boyfriend smiling the biggest smile he had ever seen the Nindroid give. 

Trying to hide his smirk, he asked, "Do you like it?"

Zane furiously nodded his head and chugged the coffee. Cole smiled and finished his coffee. They paid, thanked Alison and her family, and headed to find something else to do in the mall.


	11. Cole's New Friend

The two of them left the coffee shop and started walking around the mall, looking for something to do. There were so many stores, they had no idea what to do. There were at least five stories packed full of shops, restaurants, and other things. Luckily, no one had recognized them yet. Wearing everyday clothes had its advantages.

Lucky for them, with Cole's small stature and longish hair they could pass as your average straight couple holding hands. Now if someone took a longer glance, they would definitely notice Cole's very masculine face and body and then they would be screwed. However, there were so many people that no one cared. It would be even worse if someone recognized them as the Ninja. They would be hated throughout all of Ninjago and shunned by everyone. It's not like they had anywhere else to go either.

Either way, they somehow ended up in an animal shelter. This mall really did have everything. They walked around, looking at the poor animals being kept there. A woman was rushing around, looking very stressed. Her hair was a sloppy, messy bun, and her clothes were wrinkled. Cole decided to ask her what was wrong, and if he could help. He first let go of Zane's hand.

"Excuse me miss, but is everything okay?"

She turned around and sighed.

"I'm fine." She said somewhat harshly.

"I'm sorry for bothering you," Cole said, putting his hands up in defense.

She sighed again and sat down on one of those cheap school chairs.

"I'm sorry." She said, "It's just there's a lot going on here."

"Maybe we can help?" Zane suggested. "We would love to, right Cole?" 

He nudged Cole with his elbow. 

"Sure thing," Cole said.

"Thank you." She said, "You see, I work here alone except for my manager who only shows up occasionally. Having to take care of at least twenty animals every day, and most of them have health problems, really takes a toll on you."

The two ninjas nodded in understanding. She stood up. Then she realized what she heard.

"Excuse me, did you say his name was Cole? As in the Master of Earth?" 

The two looked back and forth at each before nodding in agreement.

"Yes." The both said awkwardly.

"AWESOME!" She said excitedly, "Then you must be Zane Oh My Goodness are you two on a date?!"

"Yes?" Cole said, unsure of himself.

"YES I TOTALLY SHIP IT AHAHAHHAHAHAHHA!" She exclaimed loudly.

The two ninjas just sorta looked at her and stood there until she calmed down. She let out a 'phew' and then started talking again. 

"Sorry, I don't normally get that excited."

"It is fine," Zane said uncomfortably. 

"If it's okay with you, I could really use some help feeding all of the cats and dogs right now. They take the most time."

"Of course." The two of them said.

"Where is the food?" Zane asked politely.

"It's in the back." She said, "Here, follow me."

They followed her into a small back room. With Cole's super strength, it was easy to carry the heavy bags out of the room. They made quick work of the situation and all of the animals were fed by noon.

"Is there anything else we can do for you?" Zane asked.

"Oh no, you have already helped me more than enough. I can't ask you for anything more than you've already given. I should be the one asking if there's anything I can do for you." The woman said. 

Zane then noticed Cole wasn't next to him anymore. He looked around and didn't see him. He walked back towards the animals only to see Cole sat on the ground staring almost entranced by one of the cages. Zane squatted down next to him and looked in with him. In it was a kitten with sandy colored fur, curled up with a stuffed bird. 

Cole stood up and asked, "What's this kitten's name?"

The woman looked and said, "Oh, she doesn't have a name. She came here just a few days ago. We found her on the streets, she must have lost her mom. She loves that plush we gave her. She won't let go of it."

Cole quietly said, "Oh."

Zane had never seen Cole so invested in something that wasn't his friends or training. He knew what he needed to ask.

"Cole, would you like to adopt the kitten?" Zane said, smiling.

Cole blushed and slowly said, "Yes."

The woman smiled at the two of them and said, "Of course you can take her. Since you helped me so much, I'll give you to her for thirty dollars and throw in food, a collar, a bowl, and a cage."

Cole's eyes lit up and said, "It's a deal!"

Cole took his time filling out the paperwork as Zane smiled. He had never seen Cole blush before. He was so excited, he could hardly contain it. Finally, Cole was done and only had one thing left to do.

"What would you like to name her Mr. Hence?" The woman asked.

"Mango." He said, beaming.


	12. Movie Night

Cole and Zane left the store with a bag in Zane's hands and a kitten in a carrier in Cole's hands. The kitten was somehow still asleep, and Cole made sure to keep the carrier steady as to not wake her. She looked so cute cuddled up with her plushy. Even Zane took a liking to her instantly. As they walked, there was something Zane seriously had to ask.

"Cole, why would you name the cat Mango?"

"Well, she's a yellowy orange so I thought 'What's yellow and orange? Oh right, a mango!'"

"Yes but that is an animal, not a fruit," Zane said, pointing to the kitten.

"Zane, you don't have to name your pets what they are. You can name them whatever you want. I chose her name because it reminded me of her. Sweet, orange, and yellow."

"Oh." Zane said, "I assumed names were chosen to reflect what they were."

"Zane, is that why you named your falcon Falcon?" Cole asked, trying to hide his desire to laugh.

"Yes," Zane replied seriously.

Cole couldn't help but laugh. He loved how clueless Zane was sometimes.

"What is so funny?" Zane asked.

"Nothing," Cole said, calming himself down.

They walked out of the mall and got into the Ultra Sonic Rader. Cole clearly did not want to part with the kitten, so Zane drove them back to the Bounty. They stepped into Cole's room, setting the bag and kitten on the bed. He placed the bowl by the door and filled it with food. He got another bowl that no one used from the kitchen and filled it with water. 

As Cole opened the cage slowly, the kitten woke up from its nap. She looked scared and didn't walk out. Cole looked sad, but Zane knew what to do. Zane put a little bit of food in Cole's hand and then positioned it near the front of the cage. The kitten cautiously walked out and nibbled on the food. When she finished, Cole scratched her under her neck and she purred happily. Cole let out a squeal, and the kitten looked up at him. Zane tried to hold in his laughter at the adorable sound Cole had let out. Cole picked up the kitten and cradled her in his arms. 

He walked out of his room, followed by Zane, and sat on the couch. He placed a blanket over his legs and laid the kitten on his lap. Zane sat down next to him. He noticed Cole was cold, so he turned up his body heat and sat next to him. The kitten looked at the Nindroid curiously. Then she walked into his lap. As she felt how warm he was, she rubbed her head against him and kneaded the blanket a little. She walked in a circle and laid down on his lap, purring all the while. 

Cole smiled happily at his boyfriend saying, "I think she likes you."

Zane smiled too as he stroked her back.

"I think so too." 

Suddenly Zane realized something.

"Wait, we never asked if we could buy a cat!"

Cole's eyes widened.

"OH, MY SPINZJITZU MASTER WE DIDN'T!"

They looked at each other as they freaked out.

Cole stood up saying, "At least none of us are allergic to cats?! Right, Zane?! RIGHT!?"

Zane checked his memory bank.

"No, no one is allergic."

Cole let out a sigh.

"How are we going to explain this to everyone?"

Zane shrugged and said, "It's your cat. You explain it."

"But I don't know how to!"

"That's your problem," Zane said.

Cole sat back down and said, "Do you want to watch a movie?"

Zane said, "Sure. What movie should we watch?"

"Have you seen Lord of the Bracelets yet?"

Zane shook his head saying, "No. Should I?"

"Do you even know what LOTB is?" Cole asked.

Zane shook his head again. Cole freaked out.

"YOU HAVEN'T SEEN LORD OF THE BRACELETS YET?! ANY OF THEM?! THE FOLLOWERS OF THE BRACELET?! THE THREE TOWERS?! THE HOMECOMING OF THE MONARCH?! THE DOBBIT?! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN READ THE BOOKS?!"

Zane said no.

"Okay I know what we're doing tonight," Cole said.

He got up again and went to the kitchen. 

From the kitchen, he yelled, "Do you want some popcorn, Zane?! Or a soda?!"

"Sure!" Zane yelled back. 

After a few minutes, Cole came back with two bowls of popcorn and two Cactus Coolers. Cole loaded the DVD into the player and sat back down on the couch, excited to watch the movie he loved so much. They sat with their heads on each other's shoulders, the cat on the both of their laps. Eventually, everyone else came back home. They had gotten stuck in traffic and arrived later than expected. It was already ten when they got home. As they walked into the living room, they were greeted to the sight of Cole and Zane asleep on each other's shoulders with a kitten also asleep on their laps and LORB playing on the T.V. 

Nya turned off the T.V, pulled another blanket over their backs, and turned the light off for them. They slept like that all night.


	13. Going Shopping

Cole and Zane woke up the next morning to Nya cooking pancakes. Both of their backs hurt because the couch was not a comfortable place to sleep. As they rose to stretch, the kitten jumped from their laps onto the floor beside them. They walked into the kitchen, only to remember they were still in their clothes from yesterday.

"Good morning love birds!" Nya teased them, her back turned from them as she cooked, "Did you sleep well?"

"But- We're not, I mean we are, I mean we're friends, I mean uhh..." Nya stopped Cole before he could make a bigger fool of himself.

"It's fine you guys. No one cares if you're dating. We're your friends, and nothing would change that." She reassured them.

Zane looked around the kitchen and realized no one else was there.

"Where is everybody?" He asked.

"Ooh, you just missed them. I guess they didn't tell you they were going out to see a movie today. You two looked so comfortable that we didn't have the heart to wake you up." She explained.

"Why didn't you go with them?" Cole asked.

Nya sighed.

"They left me to take care of this little brat," Nya said just as Lloyd walked into the room.

"He may be in the body of a sixteen-year-old, but he's still ten," Nya added.

"It was going to be awesome!" Lloyd pouted, "There was gonna be blood and explosions and cool stuff! Even Sensei was excited! But if it wasn't for stupid Kai pointing it out, I would have gotten to go!"

"And now I'm stuck with him for today," Nya said.

The two of them sat down at the table as Nya dished up their pancakes and poured them cups of orange juice. As they passed syrup around the table, Nya continued to talk.

"So now, how about you explain how this little cutie showed up last night." Nya said, petting the kitten that was next to her, "And don't try to lie and say she just showed up. We saw the pet supplies in your room Cole."

Cole said, "We went to a coffee place in the Ninjago City Mall to hang out." Nya raised her eyebrows at that statement but let him continue. "When we left, we decided to walk around the mall, looking for something to do. We somehow ended up in an animal shelter. We helped the woman working there take care of some of the dogs and cats when I saw this cutie. I ended up adopting her and now her name is Mango."

"Aww, that's so sweet. It must be nice to have such an adorable relationship." Nya said slyly.

"Yeah, it is." Cole said before realizing what she really said, "Wait, what!?"

Nya laughed and everyone finished eating. After cleaning up, Zane and Cole went into their separate rooms to get changed into new clothes and tidy themselves up. Zane checked out the kitchen when he was done, and noticed they were in need of some more groceries. When you live with seven people, you go through groceries fast. He made a list of what they needed and then headed to Cole's room. He knocked on Cole's door, and when the Earth ninja didn't answer he slowly opened the door. 

"Hello Cole, I was wondering if you would like to... go... shopping..." Zane's train of thought stopped as he opened the door all the way.

He was treated to the sight of Cole, shirtless, and stretching. Zane slammed the door shut, embarrassed. Cole opened the door, still shirtless, and stood in the doorframe, staring up at his blushing boyfriend. He stood up on his tiptoes and kissed Zane on the lips. Zane froze, feeling like he was having a blue screen of death. Cole had to pull back soon because y'know people gotta breathe. Cole then closed the door, put his shirt on, and started to walk with Zane to go to the store. Unbeknownst to them, Lloyd had seen the whole thing. He saw this as the perfect opportunity to troll the heck out of them. 

He stepped out of hiding and said, "Hey guys, mind if I go shopping with you?" 

Cole was going to protest, but before he could Zane said, "Of course you may come along."

They all got in the Ultra Sonic Rader and headed out, telling Nya that they would be back soon. They went to the local mega-mart and Cole grabbed a cart. Zane walked alongside him with Lloyd. 

"Okay, so first we need more eggs and milk." He said, and they headed to the correct aisle. 

After getting the eggs and milk they got miscellaneous vegetables, fruit, bread, and other food products. They ended up in the pet aisle and Cole chose some new toys for Mango. He also grabbed a bowl for Mango's water. Everyone came home, Zane cooked dinner, and they all went to sleep.

Little did they know, a certain lord was keeping an eye on them and saw everything that day. And he had the perfect revenge plan.


	14. Back Again

Garmadon had been lying in wait for a while. The Serpentine had abandoned him, but unknown to the Ninja he had awoken the Great Stone Army. He was ready to take Ninjago by force by any means necessary. There was only one thing that could stop him, and it was his son. Of course, the Green Ninja had to be his son. The destined Green Ninja who would defeat him had to be his only child. And the only way he could succeed in taking over Ninjago and turning it into his own image was to defeat him.

He had been watching the Ninja for a while now. He had been searching for weaknesses, ways he could break them down. If hope and love was the one thing keeping them together, then he'd have to take it away from them too. He had noticed that two of the Ninja, in particular, had been growing closer together in more ways than one. These being the Masters of Earth and Ice.

He remembered when he had to live with them for a short time while as they helped him rescue Lloyd. They were hospitable people, unlike Kai, and tried to accept his differences. He saw how they could see the light in things. How they looked at each other. How they smiled. How they looked happy. Oh, how he longed to feel love again. Ever since he was bitten by the Great Devourer, evil flowed through his veins. He could no longer love those who he wished to love, such as his own son or wife Misako. He hadn't seen his wife for years. He hated to admit it, but he really did miss her.

He was angry. If he wasn't allowed to feel love, neither should anyone else. This is how he got it into his head to make a great plan. One that would not fail this time. This time, Cole would not get Zane back.

Everyone had just finished eating the delicious dinner Zane had cooked. They offered to help him clean, but he said he could do it himself. Everyone went to their rooms and practically passed out. As it turns out, while Zane was turned away Garmadon had slipped some sleeping tea into everyone else's cups. Zane was the only one with an uncontaminated cup, leaving him alone. He pilled all of the plates, cups, and tableware on the counter. He then put on his apron and gloves and went to work. He finished after a short amount of time, before drying and putting away all of the dishes. He put the leftovers in Tupperware, of which there weren't much.

He took off his gloves and apron and decided to head to the Bridge for one last check. He was surprised as when he stepped inside the door, the alarms were going off loudly. Someone had broken into the local museum and was trying to steal some precious artifacts. He knew that it might be dangerous, so he quickly changed into his Gi, pulled his hood over his head, and ran through the ship. He checked everyone's rooms to wake them. He tried everything he could, but could not manage to.

He then decided to go off on his own. He left a note saying where he was going so in case someone woke up they could come for backup. He made his way outside, only to be confronted with who he wanted to see the least. Garmadon. He stepped back defensively as the dark lord stepped closer to him. He pulled out his shurikens, ready to fight. 

"There's no need to worry boy." Garmadon said, smirking, "I just came to collect what I want."

"If it is Lloyd you want, you will need to get through me first," Zane said, readying his fighting stance.

"I'm not after my son!" Garmadon said, "You have something that I want. And I am going to take it away from you."

Zane charged at him, but Garmadon dodged expertly. He tried to return the hit, but Zane was fast.

"Haha, you're faster than I expected," Garmadon said, slashing at Zane's side. He managed to tear a hole in his Gi. "But you're not fast enough for me."

Garmadon pulled out a sword and brought it down upon Zane. Luckily, Zane managed to catch it in his shurikens. Unlucky for him, four arms against two were all too much for the Nindroid. He found himself pinned, a sword right by his ear. Any closer and...

"Not so fast now are you?" Garmadon teased.

He quickly bound Zane's arms in Vengestone cuffs, rendering his elemental powers useless. Not that he had any, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Zane struggled against him, but the older man was far stronger than him. Garmadon threw Zane over his shoulder carelessly and jumped off the Bounty. He landed on his feet. 

"Unhand me this instant!" Zane squirmed, trying to free himself to no avail. 

Garmadon just laughed at his feeble attempt to escape and took him to his lair. He threw him into an old, nasty cage, and chained him to the wall. Zane had no idea where he was, as Garmadon had blindfolded him as they approached the area. Garmadon pulled off his blindfold and slapped him across his face. Zane flinched a little but tried not to show his emotions. If Garmadon wanted to hurt him, he wouldn't let him have the satisfaction.

Garmadon pulled out his sword and stabbed it into Zane's side. He squinted his eyes shut in pain, but kept his screams in. He could not let him know that it hurt. Garmadon smirked at the Nindroid's expression. Seeing the pain on his face as he lost hope was enjoyable to him. He could feel no love, no empathy. This just made it all the more enjoyable.

He pushed the Ice Master hard against the wall, hearing metal clank against the stone walls. He climbed atop the Nindroid to stop him from squirming. Garmadon forced Zane's chin up so he would have to look straight at the dark lord. 

He forced Zane to do things the Nindroid knew were wrong. He tried not to cry out, he tried to keep it in. He felt guilty, he felt like this was not a normal reaction. He knew no one would even hear his pleas for Garmadon to stop. He just suffered in silence.


	15. Breaking In

Cole woke up the morning after. His head was pounding, and his stomach was in knots. He made his way to the bathroom and threw up. He assumed he must have gotten sick. He made his way to the kitchen so he could look for some medicine. Little did he know, literally everyone else had the same train of thought and they were all in the kitchen too. Mango walked up to him, and he picked her up as she rubbed against his legs. He poured her some food and water and placed her back down.

"Hey guys, I think I'm sick," Cole said.

"Me too," Jay said.

"Yep," Kai said.

"Same," Nya said.

"Yeah, me too," Lloyd said.

"I'm in the same spot." Sensei Wu said.

They all just looked at each other, acknowledging that this was not a normal type of illness. This was caused by something else. There was something extra strange about it though. If everyone was affected, then why hadn't Zane come out of his room too?

"Guys, if we're all out here, then where's Zane?" Jay said.

Everyone looked at each other for about ten seconds. Suddenly, everyone, including Sensei Wu, let out a loud 'oh shit'.

Cole ran down the hall to Zane's room. He threw open the door, only to see it was empty. He ran into every other room, quickly followed by everybody. They checked every room, nook, and cranny. Of course, he didn't turn up. After checking everything for the second time, everyone started to get really scared. Two hours later and Cole started having a mental break down. He was on the floor of the Bridge, crying and rocking himself in the fetal position. 

"HE'S DEAD!" He sobbed, "HE'S GONE! AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!"

Lloyd pulled him into a tight hug, followed by everyone else. Even Mango came over and purred at him, rubbing against his face as if to dry his tears. 

"Shh... It's okay Cole. He's not dead. He's not gone. We'll find him okay? We'll find him." Lloyd whispered to him. 

"Hey, look at this!" Nya called out, holding a note.

"How did we miss that?" Kai asked, facepalming.

"Well, read it!" Jay exclaimed.

"It says, 'I am going to investigate a robbery at the museum. If you're reading this, I may need some backup so please come help. -Zane.'" Nya said.

"Well, that's a start," Jay said.

"But wait," Lloyd said, "If he was going somewhere, Zane would bring his Falcon with him so he could send him back to get help. If his Falcon is still here, wouldn't that mean he never got his chance to leave in the first place?" 

Everyone thought about that for a minute.

"But how would he not even manage to get there? There haven't been any Serpentine sightings since the last time he went missing. It's not like Garmadon would just show up." Kai pointed out.

Then he realized what he just said.

"Wait. What if? What if Garmadon himself showed up? And he's the one who took Zane in the first place?"

"My father..." Lloyd sighed.

Sensei Wu put a caring hand on Lloyd's shoulder. 

"The final battle is approaching fast. We must be ready for anything. Now Nya," Wu said, turning to the girl in question, "Do you think that you could send the Falcon to find their location?" 

"Uhh, Sensei, I don't think we need to." 

She pointed to Ninjago City, where they were currently anchored over. The sky was suddenly going dark, and a giant tower was erupting from the ground. Nya ran to the steering wheel, and Cole finally snapped out of it and hoisted the anchor back up. They ran from the city as quickly as they could. If they were caught in about two minutes, Ninjago would have no hope left. After they were at a safe place deep in the mountains, they lowered the anchor again. They then began making a plan.

"It appears the final battle has already begun, Nephew. You know what must happen." Wu said.

Lloyd nodded. His eyes were gloomy but filled with strength. He never wanted to be the Green Ninja. He never wanted to face his father. All he ever wanted was a normal, happy life. He just wanted to be like everyone else. He knew what he had to do. He knew that the fate of Ninjago rested on his shoulders. He had to defeat his father for the greater good. And he was prepared to. For Ninjago. For his family. For his friends.

"Okay so we have no idea what the layout of this building is, we have no idea where Zane is, and we have no idea if Garmadon is still working the Serpentine. We're pretty much flying blind here, and of course, we're MISSING OUR ONE PERSON THAT HAS ACTUAL COGNITIVE FACULTIES! HE'S LITERALLY A WALKING COMPUTER!" Jay screamed in his usual panicky tone.

"We can do it, Jay. We have all that we need. We have what Garmadon doesn't. Hope and love." Kai said.

"Okay so, all we know is that it's a very tall tower. Most likely the front door is heavily guarded." Nya said drawing a map as a reference, "Splitting up is dangerous if one of us runs into Garmadon or too many of whoever he's working with at once, but we're less likely to be seen. Kai, you and Jay will stay with Lloyd and guide him safely to his father. Me and Sensei Wu will stay in the Bounty and help evacuate the citizens. Cole, you need to find Zane and break him out." 

Everyone nodded and geared up. Cole slipped a pair of shurikens into an extra spot on his Gi. They would have definitely taken Zane's weapons if he had any, and he didn't want to waste time having to find them. They stopped in a secluded area in order to hide the Bounty in the underbrush. Cole locked Mango in his room with food, water, and toys, and told her to stay put. She meowed in response as if to say okay. They traveled in the shadows of the city, which wasn't that hard considering the entire city was shrouded in dark purple clouds. They reached the tower, and put their plan into action.


	16. Reunited

Cole looked up at the tower in front of him. He was anxious to find Zane but was very scared at the same time. The final battle had begun and he could tell that Lloyd was scared. He could only imagine how nerve-wracking it must be for him. He had to fight his father, the only person he had left in his life. His mother had been missing for years after she left him to the care of Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys. Cole knew that this was not his fight, and he just had to do what he could to help Lloyd. 

He scanned the building, looking for a more hidden entrance. There were soldiers standing at every visible entrance. They were unlike anything he had ever seen before. They were clearly not Serpentine and clearly not human. They seemed to be made from a rock-like material, an unrecognizable material. He then noticed a seemingly unguarded window. He looked back and forth to check his back. When he was sure that no one was near him, he made a beeline for the window. He jumped through the window and crawled through it. He was careful to be quiet and slipped down the hallway. 

He noticed two soldiers walking down the hall toward him. He pushed his back close against the wall and squeezed his eyes shut. He held his breath, and the soldiers walked right past him. He slipped past the guards, noticing one of them had a bundle of keys clipped to his waist. He slowly followed the guard, before quickly snatching the keys from him. He clung to the wall, making his way to a set of stairs. He slid his way up the stairs, sneaking past another set of guards walking down the stairs. He luckily overheard them talking.

"Lord Garmadon says that the prisoner will be taken apart soon."

"Didn't he talk?"

"No, he refused to say anything about where the Ninja was hiding his son." 

"He was crying the last time I checked on him. He's such a weak Ninja. I don't know why the others keep him around."

"Yeah, if Garmadon saw us crying we would be dead for sure."

"Garmadon said torturing him was very enjoyable. I got to watch it first hand. When he started stabbing him with his blade, the Ninja's face was awesome. So much pain and anguish."

"Oh man, I wish I was there. I bet his cries for help were amazing."

"Oh, they definitely were." The soldier confirmed, "He sounded like this, 'Help me! No! Stop it! This isn't right! Don't touch that! No! AH! Wait! What are you doing!? Stop! Please! AH, please! No more!' It was hilarious."

The guard laughed at the other's girly impression.

"Where is he being kept again?"

"How did you forget? He's in the basement dungeon."

The two walked away as Cole stood against the wall stunned. He tried not to vomit or cry. His boyfriend, the one he loved most, was going to be killed if he couldn't find him. He was tortured. And he could have done nothing to stop it. The way the soldiers were talking about what happened to Zane made him feel sick. How could anyone, even someone as terrible as Garmadon, do something that terrible? He had to get Zane out of there immediately. 

He followed what the guards said, and headed to the basement. He made sure to tread lightly. If he was caught, then there would be no way for Zane to survive. He made his way down the stairs. Cole reached the basement, checked to see if there were any guards in the room, and went inside. He made sure to lock the door behind him. He quietly walked through the basement, whispering Zane's name. After he saw that there was no one down there, he felt safe. He walked to the end of the room, peering into each cell as he went. He finally made it to the last cell. What he saw inside horrified him.

Inside of the cell, he saw Zane, chained to the wall. His head was slumped against his shoulder and his eyes were no longer glowing, showing that he was shut down. His Gi was torn to shreds, and his hair was messy and dirty. His face was caked in his own blue blood. His chest was ripped open, his wires were cut and tangled. There was a greyish substance leaking from his groin area, and Cole didn't really want to know what it was. He knew what it was, but didn't want to hear it out loud. One of his legs was almost entirely torn off. It was connected loosely to his body by a few wires.

Cole tried all of the keys he stole from the guard on the door. None of the keys worked. He used all of his strength and managed to rip the metal door off of its hinges. He ran into the cell, sliding on his knees to grab him in his arms. He tried to shake him awake, trying to see the light in his eyes again. He tore a strip of cloth off of his own Gi and wrapped it around Zane's leg. He tightened it so that his leg would stay on. He knew that if Zane woke up, he would be in for one hell of a painful experience. He hoped Jay could fix him. 

He looked at Zane's torn chest panel. He peeled back the small bits of metal still protecting his core. It was still faintly glowing. Cole slipped out a few tears of joy. Zane wasn't dead, but he was pretty darn close. He looked at the cut wires. He picked up a few metal strips laying around Zane. He cut his hands on their sharp edges but didn't care. He just wanted Zane back. He wrapped them around the separated wires, connecting them again. He had seen Jay repair Zane a few times, so he tried his to copy what he saw the Lightning Ninja do. He saw his switches were mostly off, so he flipped a few on. Nothing happened.

He pushed past the wires to see a set of hidden switches. They were seemingly far more important than the others. Some were eyesight, neural transmitters, sensitivity, pain receptors, and other things like that. He switched them on. Still, nothing happened. He slowly got more and more distressed. He turned them off and on again. Nothing happened. He turned all of them off and back on. Nothing happened. He started crying as he tried again and again. Nothing happened. He held himself up with his hands against the wall. He banged his fists against the wall until his knuckles started to bleed. He pushed his forehead against the Nindroid's, letting his tears fall onto the other's face. He sobbed quietly to himself for a few minutes.

He gently pressed a hand against Zane's power core, trying to feel anything that was still alive in the Ice Ninja. He felt the gentle buzzing of the core and could hear the gentle humming in his ears. As he pushed farther, he realized the vibrations were stronger, the humming was louder, and most importantly, the light was glowing brighter. He pushed as hard as he could against the core, still being careful as to not injure the Nindroid. It was glowing brighter, but there was still no light in his eyes. Cole started to cry again. Zane really was gone. He would never see his smile again, hear his laugh again, hug him, kiss him, love him. He was truly gone. 

As his sobbing grew louder, he heard a faint sound.

"Cole?"


	17. The End Is Nigh

Cole slowly looked up. His vision was blurred by his tears, but he could see something. He could see two shining blue lights looking down at him. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. What he saw was Zane, his face smiling slightly down at him. Cole freaked out and pulled himself away. He was filled with joy as he saw the Nindroid awake. Zane slowly tried to stand, but tears filled his eyes as he let out a yelp of pain. He had almost lost his leg, so it was incredibly understandable. Cole raced to his side to steady him. He could not walk on his leg, but the other one seemed to be in decent condition. Cole picked up an iron bar that fell from the door when he ripped it off and gave it to Zane so he could use it as a crutch. 

He picked up the keys that he had thrown aside. After trying a few of them, he managed to unlock the handcuffs that held Zane. Now there was only one issue. With Zane severely injured, how were they supposed to escape? There was no way they could try to sneak out. They were sitting ducks. Suddenly, they heard the doorknob rattle. They went quiet, but the doorknob continued to shake violently. They huddled together against the wall. Zane covered his face with the hand that wasn't holding the makeshift crutch as Cole shielded him with his arms defensively. They prepared for the worst as the door opened.

They felt a huge wave of relief as they saw Nya standing in the doorway. She was standing with Lloyd, Kai, and Jay behind her. She motioned for them to follow her. Instead of having Zane try to walk with his makeshift crutch, Cole just swept him off his feet and ran after the others. They ran upstairs and made a beeline out of the building. They ran outside to see the Bounty parked very close outside. They all charged up the loading ramp and climbed aboard. Nya ran to the Bridge and forced the ship up into the skies. Cole could see a very angry Garmadon in the distance, standing atop of the building.

"Soo, where are we going Nya?" Jay asked, soon following her into the Bridge.

Everyone else soon followed behind him.

"I'm not sure." She said truthfully, "We need to go somewhere far away. Somewhere that Garmadon can't find us. Do you know anywhere like that Sensei?"

Wu closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. 

"I do know of a place," Wu said, "We must go to the Dark Islands."

"Dark Islands?" Everyone asked simultaneously.

"Yes, the Dark Islands," Wu said, "Long ago, Ninjago was one place. Half held the darkness, and half held the light. There is no darkness without light. Even in Ninjago, there must be a balance. An evil known as the Overlord arose from the darkness. He threatened the first Spinjitzu Master's reign. In an act of desperation, the First Spinjitzu Master split Ninjago into two parts: Ninjago and the Dark Islands. Now the Overlord has managed to escape the Islands and has entered my brother. Together, I fear they may be unstoppable. However, the prophecy does not lie. The Green Ninja will defeat him, and light will shine down upon Ninjago again." 

Everyone nodded in agreement and Nya listened to Sensei's instruction as he guided them to the island. After a few days of travel, they arrived at the Dark Islands. They landed and stepped off of the ship. As everyone else walked off, Zane suddenly collapsed. Everyone rushed to his aid. Cole picked him up and carried him into Zane's bedroom. He laid Zane down on his bed and pulled his Gi away so Jay could work on him. Jay walked in with his toolbox, prepared to fix up his friend for the second time in two weeks. Cole refused to leave the room and said that he would help Jay. Cole grabbed Zane's hand and squeezed it tight. Mango also came in and sat right by Zane's head, purring incessantly. Jay took one look at Zane's mangled body and knew what he needed. 

"Okay Cole, you're gonna need to write this down."

Cole grabbed a nearby pen and paper and prepared himself.

"Okay. I need twenty gauge copper wire, three pieces of iron sheeting, five inches of red, blue and white wire, a box of nuts and screws, two medium sized gears, and a can of oil. Oh and two new hinges."

Cole just sorta stared at Jay confused. Jay stood up and sighed.

"Ugh. You just stay here and I'll go get it."

Cole waited a few minutes, still grasping Zane's cold metal hands. Jay came back and over a two hour period had Zane back to tip-top shape. Unluckily, Jay did not yet have the parts he needed to repair Zane's leg entirely. Instead, Jay made him a crutch from some spare pieces he had laying around. In the meantime, He tightly bound Zane's leg in thick bandages in order to keep the pieces he could fix together. Everyone got together to explore the Islands they did not know. Cole worked to find food and hunt, Kai checked the jungles with Jay to see if they could find any natives, Nya worked on the Bounty in preparations for the final battle, Lloyd was learning some new battle tactics from Sensei Wu, and Zane was left alone to read nearby.

As they stretched, Lloyd asked Wu, "Uncle, must I fight my father?"

Wu replied, "Yes. I am sorry nephew, but you must fight your father. Destiny is not something that can be messed with."

Lloyd nervously asked, "But what if I'm not ready to face my father? What if... I'm not the Green Ninja?"

Wu stopped stretching. Lloyd soon followed. Wu gently laid a hand upon his nephew's shoulder.

"I know that you may be scared to face your father, Nephew. But you must believe in yourself. We are all here for you and are ready to protect you at all costs. The Green Ninja is brave and far more powerful than you think."

Cole soon came back to camp along with Jay and Kai. Cole had a sling of squirrels along his back. Jay and Kai looked upset. 

"There is no one else on this Island except for us," Kai said.

"Well, I found us some food," Cole said happily.

"Why don't you cook for us tonight Zane?" Nya asked.

"I would love to. But I will need some help. I'm not exactly in the best condition." Zane said, looking down at his leg.

Cole quickly raised his hand. 

"I'll help!" Cole said.

As they all sat down to eat, Sensei Wu started to talk.

"There is one final thing we must do to prepare for this final battle."

Everyone stopped eating, intrigued.

"We must find the Temple of Light."

"Temple of Light?" Lloyd asked.

"The Temple of Light is a place hidden on this very island. It is said to contain the powers of the original Spinjitzu Masters. If we can find this Temple, we may be able to get your powers back." 

Everyone got very excited about this. Getting their powers back gave them hope to fight back. If they had their powers back, they may be able to defeat Garmadon. 

"How do we find this place?" Kai asked.

Wu pulled out a small medallion with three holes in it. He handed it to Jay.

"If you can find the mountains on this island that line up with the holes in this medallion, the Temple of Light is said to be located there." 

Everyone nodded and began their hike through the island.


	18. The Final Battle Pt. 1

The group of five Ninja made their way throughout the island. As they went, Jay would occasionally look through the medallion. They slowly trudged up mountains and jungles. They were even slower than usual because of Zane's broken leg. Everyone wished that he didn't have to go. As they walked, it was obvious he was in pain, but all five had to be at the Temple of Light. They continued on the path for what felt like hours. After a while, everyone just wanted to give up. They'd been walking for hours. They were all tired and were just done. 

"We've been walking for hours!" Kai said, kicking a nearby stone against a wall, "Where even is this stupid place?!"

"Yeah, Lloyd, don't you think Sensei may have forgotten where this place is or how to get there?" Jay said angrily, "We have no idea how long he's been living after all!"

"Are you doubting our Sensei?" Zane said, slowly coming up behind them.

"Well, I mean, I'm not doubting him, but..." Jay said, uncomfortable.

"C'mon guys," Cole said, "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Oh fine. But I'm going to lay down for a bit right here." Jay said, pouting.

Everyone reluctantly joined him, sitting on nearby rocks or laying on the solid rock ground. They all rested for a bit. Jay was getting bored, so he looked around at the mountains surrounding him. He looked ahead of him and saw three mountain peaks not too far away. Each was perfectly aligned with a glowing sun. He thought it was pretty, the way the light shone from behind the peaks. He then realized that it looked like something he had heard.

"Hey Lloyd, what did Sensei say about that medallion he gave me again?" Jay asked.

"He said it would line up with the three suns behind three peaks. Why?"

Jay lifted the medallion up to the mountains. It lined up perfectly.

"Guys! I found the Temple of Light!" Jay yelled excitedly.

After a few minutes of walking, the group arrived at the base of the three mountains. They were very high, and there was no noticeable path up. Kai and Lloyd scoped around for a few minutes, but there was no other way up. 

"Well boys, guess there's no other way but up," Cole said, starting to scale the mountain. 

It brought him back to his past when he used to be a competitive mountain climber. It was how he'd clear his mind and escape his father. Everyone watched at how elegantly he climbed. He was like a mountain goat. Everyone else soon followed him. Everyone except for Zane.

"Um excuse me..." Zane said quietly, "But how am I supposed to get up there?"

Everyone stopped where they were. They hadn't considered that. How would Zane get up if he couldn't even walk? Cole remembered his first mission alone with Zane. It was the time that Lloyd had tricked them all with his pranks and they broke up the Serpentine using rumors. When they climbed the Mountain of A Million Steps, he had easily carried Zane on his back. One more time couldn't hurt. Cole climbed back down the mountain. 

"C'mon Zane, grab on to my back. I'll carry you up to the mountain." Cole helped Zane to latch onto his back, and tied Zane's crutch to his back with his belt as well.

He climbed up the mountain. He was quick even with the Nindroid on his back. They all reached the top and looked upon the beautiful temple. It was golden and white. It shone brightly in the sun, showing its radiance. They all gasped as they walked inside. They gazed upon the walls, shocked by what they saw.

"It's... It's all of our victories." Lloyd said.

It was. It showed them defeating the Serpentine, finding Nya as the Samurai, defeating the Great Devourer, and more. The feature wall showed the inside of the temple with each Ninja in a different corner of the temple. The watercolor art seemed to be hinting at what they needed to do. They walked to the areas they saw themselves pictured in. As they stood there, Lloyd walked into the middle of the room. He stepped onto a pressure plate and felt something jolt up inside of his body. The others felt it too. Suddenly, a golden light burst from Lloyd's chest. Everyone was soon enveloped in the light as well. As it reached each of them, it changed colors. It turned red for Kai, blue for Jay, white for Zane, and brown for Cole. 

Just as quickly as it came, the light disappeared. Everyone fell to their knees. As they rose back to their knees, they felt a power running through their veins. In each of their hands was a colored blade. Jay's was blue and white, Kai's was red and orange, Zane's was a sparkling white, and Cole's was pink and green. Everyone looked to Lloyd. He then suddenly threw out his hand as a green flame appeared. He was finally controlling his power! The others were inspired to try the same thing. As lighting, fire, ice, and earth filled the room, they were all ecstatic. They had their powers back! They stood a chance! 

"Oh my gosh, we have our powers back!" Jay yelled, jumping for joy.

"We really do! We stand a chance!" Kai joined.

"I can control my power! I CAN CONTROL MY POWER!" Lloyd yelled.

Everyone was crazy excited. They slowly made their way back down the mountain, this time with Cole also having to hold two swords, a Nindroid, and a crutch strapped to his back. They made their way back to solid ground and back to the Bounty. They all excitedly told them about what happened, and how they now had their powers back.

"So, do you know how those swords work?" Nya asked.

They all shrugged. Cole saw something fly toward his face. He stuck his sword out in defense, as Earth shot from his sword. He froze, surprised. He just totally destroyed that bee. Everyone looked at him, before yelling. 

"WOAH! THAT'S SO COOL!" Jay said.

They all tried out their swords on coconuts they threw into the sky. As they exploded, everyone got super excited. They felt like they were at the top of the world. They felt powerful like nothing could touch them. Even though they all felt good, they were still scared. They were going to fight Lord Garmadon. Everyone knew that it wasn't really their fight, and all they had to do was protect Lloyd. Lloyd was the one who really had to defeat Garmadon, his father. After another night of eating and sleeping very early, they knew it was time for the final battle to begin. They boarded the Bounty, and soon they could see Ninjago. 

The skies were almost black with clouds. They saw the tower was still there. As they looked upon the tower, they saw something terrifying. 


	19. The Final Battle Pt. 2

Atop the tower, they saw a ginormous purple and black dragon. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. By the time they got back, Garmadon had finished his transformation. He was fully combined with the Overlord. The outside of the tower now also had a staircase leading to the top. How convenient. Lloyd saw him and gulped. The reality was finally hitting him. It was really time for him to face his father. He may be powerful, but there was no telling what his father could do. Especially now that he was fused with the Overlord. 

If he lost, Ninjago would never see light again. It would all be over. There would be nothing left of the world they loved. And all because of one stupid kid who couldn't do the one thing he needed to.

Kai sensed his growing anxiety and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry." He reassured Lloyd, "We'll be by your side no matter what happens. If we go down, we go down together."

"Here here!" Jay joined.

"The Final Battle may have just begun, but that does not mean that evil has won," Zane said.

"Ooh that rhymed," Jay said. 

"Well boys, it sure was an honor to fight alongside you all," Cole said, staring up at the tall tower in front of them as they landed the Bounty.

"Yeah," Kai said. 

They landed the ship. The Ninja stepped off, followed by Nya in her Samurai X suit.

"Nya, what are you doing?" Kai asked, upset.

"I'm going with you. You'll need all of the help you can get." She said sassily.

"This is Ninja territory sis. Not samurai." Kai said.

"Exactly. I am going to fight off those weird stone guards while you all get Lloyd to Garmadon."

"Fine. But I don't want you to get hurt!" Kai warned.

"I'll be just fine brother. I promise." Nya swore.

They all walked until they got to the base of the tower. Hundreds of warriors were waiting for them there. They all pulled out their new elemental blades. Zane was having a bit of a hard time, trying to keep himself from falling over with one crutch and trying to hold a sword properly in his other hand. They were quickly surrounded. For a second, it felt like the battle would be over before it even began. Then, Samurai X stepped into action. Quickly clearing a pathway with her mechanical arms, Nya told them to go.

"I'll hold them back! Just get Lloyd up there!" She called.

They raced up the tower, with Cole and Zane somewhat lingering behind. Cole allowed Zane to place his hand that did not have a crutch over his shoulder, letting them travel faster than before. This does not mean it was a very fast pace though. As they slowly made their way to the top, they were all growing more and more scared. This may be the last time they would see each other. Jay thought how much he loved Nya. Kai thought about his sister and friends. Cole and Zane both thought about each other and the safety of Lloyd.

And Lloyd thought about his mother. 

What if she could see him right now? Would she be proud? Disappointed? Scared? He had no idea. He had yet to have seen her since he was five, and he may never see her again. As much as he hated to say it, he missed her. In his distant memories, he remembered how she was a kind and caring mother. She always had a brilliant smile on her face, and she loved him and his father with all of her heart. He wanted to do this. For his mother. For his friends. For Ninjago.

They made their way up. They were at the top of the tower. And looming over them was Garmadon. His shadow engulfed them, showing how huge he truly was. They all pulled out their elemental blades, and Lloyd took a powerful stance.

He breathed in and said, "I am here to face you, father!"

His dragon father laughed and said, "You? You will never defeat me! Just look at yourself!"

Lloyd ignored him and shot a blast of green energy straight at him. Garmadon almost seemed to absorb the blast. Lloyd was shocked. He didn't expect much, but he certainly didn't expect that.

"Your wimpy powers are nothing against me! There is nothing you can do, Green Ninja!" 

"He's lying!" Kai yelled to him.

"Shut your mouth!" Garmadon said, sending out some dark magic straight at Kai.

It wrapped around his body, ensnaring him. He couldn't move, and he struggled against the wraps that bound him.

"Hey, now that wasn't a very nice thing to say!" Jay said, shooting a lightning bolt at Garmadon.

He merely laughed and ensnared Jay as well. He also grabbed Cole, knowing that he would try to attack him next. 

He left Zane alone saying, "You can't do anything with that leg of yours, so I'll just leave you there. For now."

Garmadon turned back around to face Lloyd. Quickly, he pinned the small boy to the ground. Seeing what was happening, Zane ignored the pain in his leg and threw done his crutch. Cole saw him and knew what he was going to do. Cold warned him to stop. Zane ran, trying not to cry out. He held in the agony he felt and made it to Garmadon's side. He quickly jabbed his elemental blade into Garmadon's hand. He cursed, tossing the Nindroid off of the building. Cole screamed his name as he watched his boyfriend plummet to the ground. The misty dark clouds blocked his view, so he couldn't see the Nindroid hit the ground. 

Lloyd scrambled out from his father's grip while he was distracted. He summoned a way larger energy ball and hurled it at his father. He just missed and dodged as his father returned the blast. He started to shake as his father grew closer to him. This was no longer his father. This was a monster. A horrible, pure evil, monster. He could practically feel the evil radiating from him. Suddenly, Garmadon started to grip his friends tighter. He could only watch, horrified, as his friends started choking. 

"If you turn yourself over, I may let them go!" Garmadon boomed.

"Don't listen to him, Lloyd!" Cole managed to choke out.

"Yeah! He's lying!" Kai also barely could yell. 

"You think he'd really let us go?" Jay cried, his face turning a light shade of blue.

"Tick tock..." Garmadon teased.

"I-I... Just let them go!" Lloyd yelled.

"Good choice," Garmadon said, before loosening his grip on the Ninja. 

They all gasped for air.

"Now, hold up your full end of the deal," Lloyd said.

"Mmm... How about no!" Garmadon said, refusing to let them go. 

The Ninja struggled against Garmadon's iron grip. They kicked their legs and twisted and turned, but couldn't get out. Garmadon grabbed Lloyd, holding him tightly. He screamed and tried to move. Soon, he was pulled into a world of pure black. He could see nothing, and he wondered if he had died or been closing his eyes. He called out, trying to find any sign of life. He saw a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth smiled at him. He saw blood-red eyes staring directly at him. He saw the form of the black and purple dragon arise in front of him. 

"There is no escape now boy!" Garmadon laughed, "Where there is light, there is always shadow!"

Lloyd could hear the voices of his friends cheering him on. Saying he could do it. Saying he was worth it. He felt something rushing through him that he had never felt before. Some sort of power, one of pure light. 

"UNLESS MY LIGHT IS BRIGHT ENOUGH!" Lloyd cried, releasing the power from inside of him.

He watched as the dragon was drowned in a blinding light. He could feel himself becoming wrapped in the same power. Then he blacked out. He woke up, back in Ninjago. He was lying atop a pile of rubble. He realized that it was the tower from before. He rose from the rubble, taking in his surroundings. The sky was blue yet again, with the sun shining down on him. He stood, looking around for his friends. He saw them, and they all ran toward him. Their Gis were torn, they were covered in dirt, and in some places, they were spotted in blood. They hugged him tightly, smiling and laughing. 

"You did it, Lloyd!" They cried, "You won!"

"I know but, where's Zane?" Lloyd asked.

They looked around, trying to see any sign of the Nindroid. Instead, they saw Wu and Nya running toward them.

"You're okay!" Everyone excitedly said.

"Yes, but you need to come and see this," Nya said, making them follow her. 

They walked to the other side of the rubble, and the only thing they saw was a chunk of metal lying on the ground. Cole slowly picked it up and was shocked at what it was. It was half of Zane's face. He started crying. This time he knew Zane was really gone. And this was all that he had left. Everyone else saw it and started to tear up. He really was gone.

Suddenly, they saw something move underneath the rubble. A hand slowly emerged from the debris. Cole grabbed the hand and pushed the wreckage away. He pulled the hand, and Zane stumbled out from the ruins. He was missing half of his face and his leg was still broken, but other than that he looked okay. Cole hugged him close.

"I thought you were dead..." He cried. 

Everyone else joined in. Then, they saw another figure stumbling toward them. They all let go, and Cole handed Zane his face back. He placed it back into his face just like normal. As the figure approached them, Wu was shocked.

"Brother?" He asked, "Is that really you?"

"BROTHER?!" Everyone said, shocked.

And indeed it was. But he looked... different. He no longer was a monstrous-looking creature or man. Instead, he was a normal-looking old man. He was wearing a torn black and green robe. He slowly walked over to them. As he saw his brother, he smiled but the smile slowly turned to sadness.

"Brother... It has been so long." Garmadon said, looking away.

We walked over and hugged his brother.

"Indeed it has, brother. Indeed it has."

It was like every ounce of evil was gone. When they pulled apart, Garmadon caught a glimpse of Zane's face. He looked away, feeling ashamed. He had done such terrible things. Unspeakable things. He didn't want to face his mistakes but he knew had to. 

"Zane, I am sorry. I simply could not control myself. I never meant to hurt other people. I never meant for it to go that far." He said, before shaking his head, "No. That's not a worthy explanation. I know, there is none. Nothing can make sense of all the things I've done."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm not quite ready to accept your apology yet." He said, still uncomfortably standing slightly behind Cole.

Everyone just sorta shut up for a bit. 

"I understand." Garmadon said, "I hope to redeem myself someday."

Kai coughed and said, "Sooooo, now what?"

"I think I will go back to my old village. There is someone I need to see." Garmadon said, before heading on his way, with an old walking stick.

Everyone watched as he left, unsure whether to feel resentment or sadness.

They made their way to the Bounty. They climbed back aboard and left Ninjago to their own devices. 

"So Zane," Jay said, "Why don't I fix that leg of yours?" 

"Of course." He said quietly.

Cole followed him, squeezing his hand tightly. Mango charged up to them and purred. Zane picked her up with Cole's help and they walked together like a family.

The End.


End file.
